darkness..

[Pekka]

I just went diving at baltic sea..the weather was beatiful! and well diving was ok.. I only did about -20m dives.. but one interesting thing I noticed while doing so...
since there is loads of little particles in the water it gets dark about -8m from the surface, but the water is pretty clear when you reach -20m or so.... but there is real urge to stop sinking when you hit "the zone" in about -18m because there is no light after that.... I had my uw lamp SL4, worked ok but when I dove without it..it was terrible I couldn't see the bottom even if I touched it with my hand...
so you guys who dive in waters like this or just dive sooo deep taht you hit this "no light" zone, don't you feel uncomfortable?? I didn't like it...

 

[scott]

me too!

Pekka,

I normally dive in the crystal clear waters of the Florida springs. However, I occasionally venture into some dark water sinkholes. I am pretty much terrified as I "fall" through the deep dark waters.

I'm sure with repeated dives that the uncomfortableness would lessen, however it certainly is spooky when you don't do it very often.

Scott

 

[laminar]

Spooky

Pekka,

Yeah, recreational dives can be really spooky. Best thing is to dive a wall so that you have a reference for how deep you are and where you end up. You'll find that on good visibility but bad light penetration (stuff on the surface) days that things get brighter on the bottom as you draw near.

In Vancouver, there's a place with a wall that drops from 15m to 30m into blackness. It's an eerie feeling to let yourself sink downward. But the bottom suddenly appears out of the gloom and is actually quite bright when you reach it ( a pale grey). Using a light would just increase the light/dark contrast and make it even more spooky, I think.

For depth diving, use a line with lights and/or green light sticks (shake and crack phosphorescent glow sticks). You'll come to love the green glow after a while. Sort of like a foghorn for mariners at sea for long periods of time (or something like that).

I kind of like the darkness now.... something is always hidden, something to discover.

Pete

 

[Brad]

swimming at night

There is a submerged mountain top situated a hundred miles off the California coast (Cortes Bank). One of my favorite diving experiences was going out there alone in my skiff and swimming in the splendor of a pitch black night on the open sea....

I freedive with my camera and it is a tough go in darkness because you have to reorient yourself with the bottom each time down. That particular night there a few Giant Sea Bass in the area. GSB are beautiful grouperlike fish that can attain a weight of over 500lbs. I would go down 25-30ft and wait for the tell-tale bioluminescent glow of a creature....

That night i saw a huge glow about 20ft away, so i shined my light in the direction and i saw 2 giants! They both swung their heads toward me and one took off straight away and the other charged right by me thumping out a loud warning as he streaked by. Being somewhat romantic about such things, i have to assume it was a male and female couple. When i shined my light, he had her run away and he then charged over to fend off the danger!

Brad

 

[jvoets]

I certainly know the feeling. The water in the netherlands I dive in is pretty clear in autumn but will turn greener and greener as summer passes by. This algae layer in the first few meters is a very efficient sun block.

At 10 meters the world turns pretty dark, the border is pretty distinct. One moment you will find yourself in much darker (and colder) water. I didn't feel comfortable too when going there the first few times.

Probably something you have to get used to. And taking a light with me helps a lot

 

[Pekka]

I guess I just have to get used to that... My flashlight is bit too small I think though..it only allows me to see a little tiny tube in the darkness...
I use a depth guage that has really clear indicator for depth and as I sink in the darkness I keep an eye on that so I know how deep I am...but that doesn't really help, since as you se the indicator pass -20m and still nothing it just freaks me out a bit...

 

[thin_air]

although i have never dove in unclear water....

my friends and i sometimes go out at night and play hide 'n go seek (ya, i know, im 15 but...) in the dark, we walk out to the "bush"(a small forest near by) and play in the dark, when i started playing, my friends had already been playing for a few months (ya, in the snow), anyway, i was afraid of the dark in the middle of the forest (especially with the "extra" noises:naughty ) so, i decided that i needed to get used to the dark, so i started doing more stuff in the dark, after a while, i noticed that i had learned to use senses other then my ears. these senses had developed without my knowing.

since i know this is boring all of you...

i think that you eventually get used to whatever environment you put your body in, and as my senses developed, you will probably develop some sense to help you in the darker water

have fun

 

[Ward2]

Don't try this at home...

Hello Pekka,

Here in juneau the conditions would seem to be similar to Vancouver from what I've read. The spring and summer season are the worst in terms of plankton, etc. I've been diving a wall in 4' visibility, and locating it is a matter of differentiating grades of 'murkiness'.

When I began freediving I reasoned that the only difference between diving in daylight versus night (without light) was my state of mind, given I knew the area. So to overcome this mindblock I started diving around dusk in an area I knew with a regular/sandy bottom. I just kept diving to -10m as it got progressively darker until I was diving in complete darkness. I would slow down as I descended to lessen the impact with the bottom (arms outstretched of course!), then I would do a 1 min static or move slowly along the bottom - occasionally bumping into sleeping fish - and ascend . Since my eyes could only see different grades of darkness, it forced me not to be so dependent on them. In the end it increased my comfort/confidence level where visibility is limited (as it often is). Free the mind and the rest will follow...although this was more of an ascetic practice, if you will.

I did this alone, but I wouldn't recommend doing that. You could try just shutting your eyes while diving in daylight, that way if you feel the need to see, you can.

I hope this helps, stay safe!

Ward

 

[Pekka]

thanks Ward, I'll try that (eyes closed) tomorrow.. I'll be going to the same place for a dive tomorrow morning, with my dad we'll see how it is then, I'll let you know how it felt..
Thanks guys for your comments!
safe diving!

 

[octopusman]

swimming in coffee

Here in Corpus Christi we do bay swims for work. On a "lucky" day we will have the unbelieveable water viz of one foot! On most days we have about half. So when we look out we can barely see our own elbow. But when you dive down to the bottom, it's different. It seems the last foot or two off the bottom have viz where you can see a few feet away. Pretty weird. And yes, I have almost stuck my head in the mud swimming down too fast to se where I'm going!